Thai businesswoman Jakapong “Anne” Jakrajutatip just lately bought the Miss Universe Organization as quickly as owned by fellow reality TV star Donald Trump, something described in prehistoric quarters (US broadcaster NBC) as a “phenomenal milestone.” The deal price an estimated US$20 million (750 million baht), however who’s Jakapong, and what does she want?
With million followers on Instagram, the forty three 12 months outdated has appeared in Thai versions of Project Runway and Shark Tank. She’s also known for supporting trans awareness and setting up the Life Inspired for Transsexual Foundation (LIFT).
Jakapong give up school in Thailand to check in Australia where she graduated from Bond University with a level in worldwide relations. She then returned to Bangkok to help handle her family’s video business while establishing her own company, JKN Global Media.
Jakapong now owns different digital news channels and promotes health and wonder merchandise through 15 corporations she controls in content distribution, beverages, food supplements, beauty and consumer merchandise, news licensing and advert sponsorship. She is well-known for bringing Indian TV soaps to Thai TV.
In 2019, she turned the primary Thai and first transgender lady to win the Asia Media Woman of the Year award.
The Thai mogul has now taken a giant leap in her entrepreneurship by totally acquiring the Miss Universe Organization. She expects to generate income mainly from merchandising and licensing charges, broadcasting fees and ticket sales. The annual beauty pageant, which began seventy one years ago, was co-owned by Donald Trump between 1996-2002. It is broadcast in 165 international locations worldwide and has welcomed contestants from over 70 international locations.
Jakapong has said little about what she plans for the contest, except to earn cash out of it.
Despite their evolution and attempts to be inclusive, magnificence pageants remain an anathema to males, ladies and trans all over the place. To say these beauty pageants are designed to serve the male gaze could be to state the plain. The want to adhere to a sure physique or facial sort isn’t just a method of measuring and comparing women’s beauty (problematic enough in itself) – magnificence pageants are a no-holds-barred show of sexualised variations of girls for the male gaze, underneath the guise of “celebrating women’s magnificence.” Why ought to “women’s beauty” be celebrated at all?
“No matter what is modified, the precept remains the same. Women are providing themselves up to be rubber-stamped with the approval that they are stunning.”
In 2015, they made headlines when host Steve Harvey named the mistaken winner, during a stay telecast. In response to this, Jessica Valenti wrote in The Guardian…
“That Harvey couldn’t distinguish one fairly lady from another is nearly poetic, as a end result of, in pageants like Miss Universe, Miss America, and Miss USA, ladies aren’t individuals anyway. They’re literal symbols – unnamed apart from the state or country they’re here to characterize. It’s the last word show of women as interchangeable, vying for the right to be the shiniest object within the room.”
Wealthy sufficient to have the ability to circumvent Thailand’s strict anti-surrogacy legislation, Jakapong has two children. She has spoken about the difficulties of obeying Thai legal guidelines however is rich sufficient to not need to. She flew to Greece and paid about US$800,000 (3.2 million baht) for her two kids.
With her huge business empire, Jakapong is one of Southeast Asia’s wealthiest trans girls. Her Instagram posts show an extravagant high-emission way of life of Aston Martin automobiles and personal jets. According to Double in 2020, has an estimated web price of US$210 million (800 million baht), somewhat greater than Caitlyn Jenner..